ESPN, ACC Formally Announce Exclusive 12-Year Television Deal

ESPN and the ACC today formally announced a 12-year rights agreement that includes exclusivity to every conference-controlled football and men's basketball game, as well as the rights to women's basketball, Olympic sports matchups and conference championships. The agreement begins in '11-12 and runs through '22-23. ESPN as part of the deal will televise the most men's basketball games ever across its various networks, including the rights to both North Carolina-Duke regular-season matchups each year. All ACC men's basketball telecasts on ESPN will be fully national, and a new Sunday franchise on ESPNU will be launched as part of the deal. A record number of ACC women's basketball regular-season games plus the entire conference tournament will be televised. The deal sees an expanded commitment to the conference's 22 sponsored Olympic sports. Raycom Sports will continue as the syndication home of the ACC for over-the-air and regional cable network distribution through a new sublicense arrangement with ESPN. Raycom will also continue to manage the ACC's official corporate partner program and the exploitation of its digital assets, including the conference's official website. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but SportsBusiness Journal in May reported the deal was worth $155M annually (THE DAILY).